BEAR Robot Designed To Rescue Wounded Soldiers 104
Zothecula writes "The US Army is currently testing a robot designed to locate, lift, and carry wounded soldiers out of harm's way without risking additional lives. With feedback from its on-board sensors and cameras, the Battlefield Extraction-Assist Robot (BEAR) can be remotely controlled through the use of a special M-4 rifle grip controller or by hand gestures using an AnthroTronix iGlove motion glove. This equipment would allow a soldier to direct BEAR to a wounded soldier and transport them to safety where they can be assessed by a combat medic."
Shardik? (Score:2, Insightful)
Combat situation (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Combat situation (Score:2, Insightful)
how would you distinguish a Taliban medic? Do they wear Red Cross armbands?
Red crescent more likely.
Re:and so the first thing the robot can say will b (Score:3, Insightful)
"What is the number of your life insurance policy?"
"Before I treat you, please confirm you are not openly gay."
You are not supposed to ask that.
Re:Combat situation (Score:3, Insightful)
If I were the Taliban, I would target these things, they would stick out like a sore thumb. Its not like 'not shooting medics' has ever really been respected lately (by both sides).
I'm sure it can be made more discrete (more in the vein of a typical soldier, albeit identifiable by its weird movement). The Taliban can shoot at it all they want: it's ideal to have them shooting at the robot rather than anyone else. (Honestly that is a silly priority for them to have given that the 'anyone else' is likely to be trying to kill them.) Doubtless you can put a lot of armor on it. Even if they're making a point of trying to kill the wounded individual (again, a bad priority on their part) the robot is still serving the invaluable function of eliminating the "do we risk injuring more guys to save our wounded guy" dilemma. That's a major tactical boon even if the robot's effectiveness is somewhere between poor and mediocre.
As for its versatility, it actually looks [gizmag.com] quite capable. You can see two sets of treads connected on an arm. I'd imagine it could even go up stairs.
Re:Combat situation (Score:3, Insightful)
It's Official (Score:2, Insightful)
The US military is officially just a giant rube goldberg contraption designed to transfer tax monies to defense contractors.
I think this might even beat out the guys who manage to sell their anti-gravity tesla coils to the pentagon.
Parody? Satire? Ironyyyyyyy (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Combat situation (Score:3, Insightful)
If you do that then the soldiers might start asking why they're not outfitted with better armor in the first place.
I'm deeply concerned (Score:4, Insightful)
It seems as though one day armies (at least the US') will be composed of robots killing humans. I'm not going to trot out the usual OMG SKYNET!! sentiment, though. What concerns me is that there'll be at least one nation that will be out there making war without suffering much in the way of human loss: where will be the incentive to stop?
Take a lesson from one of your own:
It is well that war is so terrible - otherwise we would grow too fond of it. - Lee, December 1862
When I think that after ten millennia of so-called civilisation we as a species still resort to murder to solve our differences I despair, I truly do.
Re:Combat situation (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Combat situation (Score:3, Insightful)
GP was explaining that, if the US hadn't decided to politicise medical assistance, there wouldn't have been this story in the first place.
That's right. The Taliban could have taken their commander to a Doctors Without Borders clinic, who would have treated him without regard to his politics, just as they treat everybody else.